Big thanks to the Davis' for hosting this night of wine and food. This was my first time out in Bellingham and all the locals really pulled out some great bottles to share. Thanks to everyone for their generous contributions - both wine and food!

2008 Domaine Ganevat Côtes du Jura Les Chalasses Marnes Bleues - France, Jura, Côtes du JuraIncredible. Aromas of marzipan, apple, truffle, and flint. Palate was deep, layered and complex. This reminded me of grand cru burgundy...had the elegance, the flinty tones on the palate, the richness, and the acidity. Additionally, had subtle oxidative notes but this was toned down compared to many other Jura blancs. (94 pts.)

2003 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny "Clos" - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-ChampignyKiller bottle of Cabernet Franc. When Rougeard is on, the focus and purity of the fruit can be painfully wonderful. This bottle was on, and it was exactly what I look for from the Loire. Pure red fruit, dried floral notes, fresh green pepper, and subtle tobacco notes were woven together perfectly. Lots of class and elegance. (94 pts.)

2002 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er CruA beautiful 2002 Burgundy. Has the juiciness and sexiness of the 2002 vintage, with nice elegance, purity and depth too. I think some folks think about 2002 as a big fruit vintage, but this seemed to be more rustic - nice mushroom and earth aspect balanced the juicy fruit quite nicely. (91 pts.)

2010 Domaine Ganevat Côtes du Jura Cuvée Julien - France, Jura, Côtes du JuraThis reminded me of some Loire pinots I've had. Potent nose of radish, tomato and floral notes. Palate was a bit sour, but turned the corner with some air to have some nice red fruit and earthy notes. This was pretty nice, but not in the "wow" territory for me. (88 pts.)

2009 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, MorgonBeautiful, albeit tart aromatics. Cranberry and sour cherry were big and serious on the nose, with subtle wet leaves and earth too. Palate was REALLY juicy and seemed to really be tipping its cap to the 2009 vintage. To me, this seems to be a touch less complex than before...potentially entering a sleepy phase. (90 pts.)

1999 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, HermitageAromatically this was a bit closed. Even with decanting the nose was shy with hints of lemon oil, melon, and herbs. The palate was silly and seductive with nicely integrated fruit and spice notes. My guess is that this needs a couple of years to flesh out more. (90 pts.)

1998 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOCLots of oak. The fruit was dark and deep so the oak integrated relatively well with the big fruit and structure. The tannins were nicely integrated and framed the fruit nicely. If I had more of these, I'd probably try to age the oak of it...I'm guessing the naked fruit is quite nice! (90 pts.)

1978 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, RiojaA real treat. Aromas of tea, nuts, dark fruit and dried flowers was seductive and sexy. As is the case with many LdH wines, the palate was subtly oxidized so there was this undertone of roasted nuts. It had dark fruit,wet leaves, tea and dried florals on the nose. Drinking beautifully well, but I'm sure this will last a while. (94 pts.)

2001 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-PapeLots of charcoal, dark fruit and smokey notes on the nose. The palate was big and dense. Vibrant tons of dark fruit and spices on the palate were pretty nice. The alcohol spiked for me a bit on the finish, came across a but hot which is surprising given the vintage. (87 pts.)

1997 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, OakvilleA pretty nice Cabernet. Big and juicy this had a lot of dark fruits, spicy oak, and wild flowers. Palate was still powerful and dense, loads of dark fruit, oak and floral notes. Still young, this needs some time for further develop. (89 pts.)

2010 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. JosephTook some time to open up, but another great example of cool climate Syrah. Beautiful combination of dark fruit, meat tones, and floral notes. Palate is lithe but powerful...lots of complexity and power all rolled into a featherweight package. Great stuff. (92 pts.)

2007 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Silex - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-FuméBig wine and hardly recognizable as Sauvignon Blanc. What this does do well is showcase abundant tropical fruit, nice texture (so weird to say for a sauvignon blanc!) and great acidity. So while this steps outside the realm of Loire Sauvignon Blanc, it still tastes pretty darn good. (90 pts.)

Where Matt goes, so goes the Truchot! Nice notes. I'm especially appreciative of the note on the '04 Pegau, as I bought some of that as a birthyear wine for our son. It sounds like it'll be something special with a bit more age. And no candied notes on the '09 Foillard CdP??

Mark Lipton

p.s. You might want to change the spelling of Marc's first name in your notes -- we Marks can be sensitive to that sort of thing.

Mark Lipton wrote:Where Matt goes, so goes the Truchot! Nice notes. I'm especially appreciative of the note on the '04 Pegau, as I bought some of that as a birthyear wine for our son. It sounds like it'll be something special with a bit more age. And no candied notes on the '09 Foillard CdP??

Mark Lipton

p.s. You might want to change the spelling of Marc's first name in your notes -- we Marks can be sensitive to that sort of thing.

So sorry we weren't able to join you that night, Matt, but I heard it was a pretty full house so it might be a good thing we weren't in town. I heard all about your Truchots from Gabe, and the Bourgogne in particular. What he somehow managed not to mention was that it was an '04--now I'm REALLY impressed!!!

Enjoyed the notes, thanks.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Matthew Latuchie wrote:2002 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Perrières[/url] - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er CruA beautiful 2002 Burgundy. Has the juiciness and sexiness of the 2002 vintage, with nice elegance, purity and depth too. I think some folks think about 2002 as a big fruit vintage, but this seemed to be more rustic - nice mushroom and earth aspect balanced the juicy fruit quite nicely.

I'm far from an expert, but I think about 2002 as showing less acidic detail than vintages like 01 or 08, even if it's in the 'rustic/earthy/tannic' side of things. Which is consistent with your notes.

Jenise wrote:So sorry we weren't able to join you that night, Matt, but I heard it was a pretty full house so it might be a good thing we weren't in town. I heard all about your Truchots from Gabe, and the Bourgogne in particular. What he somehow managed not to mention was that it was an '04--now I'm REALLY impressed!!!

Enjoyed the notes, thanks.

Jenise - would have been great to meet you...Marc did mention that you were out of town. Looks like I'll be headed back to Bellingham towards the end of January or early February, so here's hoping we're able to connect.